A New Melody
by The Protector of Light
Summary: A sequel to 'The Song of Lala' and 'Another Symphony'. (/s/9451360/1/The-Song-of-Lala , /s/9668808/1/Another-Symphony-Vice-s-Tale) Vice and Lala must learn to face life as humans once again after so long being incomplete. Can they face the worlds and the people that cared the person they once were?
1. Act I: A New Tempo

A New Melody Act I: A New Tempo

On the edge of the line

A new fire burns.

In the darkness divine

We remember our scars.

What have we been?

What are we now?

What were are sins?

And how?

How are we going

To move on from here?

Where are we going?

The answer's not clear.

Lala and Vice sat on the edge of the tower, watching the never ending sunset in the distance. They stared off into the abyss beyond their sight. They knew not what they were going to do next. But that never had bothered either of them before. They hadn't know what was going to happen for a long time now. They just went with the flow.

But now it was decision time. "I don't know what to do," Lala said.

"What do you mean?" Vice asked.

"Well…" Lala began, tapping her fingers together, staring at her hands, "I told my friends that I'd be back to Hollow Bastion soon. But I can't take you there. They are very anti-nobody. They freaked out when I showed back up having just gotten my heart back, accusing me of being one."

"Well… We don't have to tell that that I am, or at least I was, a Nobody. They don't have to know that. They don't know your life; we can just tell them that I'm your long lost twin. I mean what are the odds of your Nobody being a guy? They wouldn't believe that any more or less than the twin story. Surely they wouldn't know for sure, so they wouldn't do anything. Right?" Vice said, looking at her for confirmation.

"You might be right," Lala said. "We'll just have to try, I guess. We don't really have a choice, do we?"

"We could stay here."

"But then they would worry for the rest of their lives, thinking that I am dead, not knowing the truth. I don't know if I can put them through that. But I definitely don't want to lose you." Lala sighed, not knowing what to do any more now than she did at the start of the conversation.

"Well," Vice said, "We can always give it a shot. If all else fails we can run like hell. I don't know them very well in my memories, so I don't know how they would react for sure. But we'll just have to risk it if you aren't up for leaving them hanging."

Lala sighed once again. "And I'm just not ready to leave them worrying about me."

"Let's give it a shot!" Vice said, standing up. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"That's what worries me…" Lala said. "You and I, we're different. But that's okay. That's what makes you separate from me."

"Yep," Vice responded. He held out a hand and helped her stand up. "Shall we commission ourselves a Heartless vessel?"

"No, actually, I came here in a ship that Cid made. So we don't have to get into one of those hard to control things."

"You can say that again," Vice said. "I sure as hell have some stories to tell you about my rides in Heartless ships."

"You can tell me all about it on the way back to Hollow Bastion!" Lala said. "I'm sure it will be a long, eventful ride."

Sitting on the edge

Into the new abyss,

A new fire burns.

It yearns

For the future

Yet to come.

We learn

From our mistakes.

What are we now?

We do not know.

And how

Will we go on

Into the great beyond?


	2. Act II: Separate

A New Melody Act II: Separate

Lala and Vice headed towards their waiting Gummi ship, looking forward to the prospect of seeing their old friends again. Lala was wary, to be sure, but she was ready to face whatever she would face coming in the future. She didn't know what would happen, but she hadn't for so long now, she was beginning to get used to the idea.

Vice, on the other hand, was calm and collected, not showing a bit of his nervousness. He was always good at controlling his emotions; that is, as long as he had been around. He wasn't really sure where he got that ability, as the person he and Lala had once been was not so well-contained. He could hardly wait to get to the Gummi ship, because he was sore, to be blunt, and he wanted to sit down for a while in a comfortable place. The Clock Tower was nice, but it wasn't very cozy. He was ready for something cushiony.

But he was more wary of their surroundings than what lied ahead. He was concerned about the people from that Organization would come back and try to get him again, and now he had Lala to worry about too. He could defend himself, but she was far more vulnerable, not even having a weapon. She was good at fleeing, but these people were good at what they did too. He would worry about her falling directly into their hands.

Little did the two know, they should be worried about something else, not the Organization. No, something far more dangerous to the two of them lurked just around the corner. They entered the forest, heading for the ship. The found themselves face to face with a masked man in red. He was looking at them in a way that seemed to say that he was expecting them. "Hello?" Lala asked.

Vice gained a defensive stance, looking around. "We're surrounded, Lala."

"Surrounded? By who?" Lala said, very confused.

"Hello," said the masked man. "I would ask how you were, but I do not offer formalities to heartless and nobodies."

"What are you talking about?" Lala asked. "Do either of us look like a heartless to you?"

"Perhaps not," the man said. "But nobodies can be deceiving, and I have much reason to believe that one of you is one."

"You must be mistaken," Lala said. Vice was thankful that she didn't seem to be losing her cool. "My friend and I were just walking through the forest to get back to town, and you're here now. I'm sure you have us confused with someone else."

"Ah, a nobody _and _a liar. If you were headed to town, why were you heading from the entrance?" The man obviously wouldn't believe any answer that they could possibly provide. Lala and Vice knew that they were screwed. Little drones floated all around, aiming guns at them. Lala moved closer to Vice and grabbed his hand. He squeezed her hand and let go, ready to bring out his crossbow at a moment's notice. "And one of you has the other fully deceived I'm sure."

"I really don't know what you're talking about!" Lala said. "We aren't nobodies!"

"But you know what a nobody is." The masked man was almost smirking, seeing that he was getting to them. "And that is proof enough that you know something that I might need to know."

"Listen bozo," Vice yelled. "I don't know who you are, or what you want, but you'd better get out of the way and leave us alone or else!"

"Or else what? You're unarmed."

"I beg to differ. I have to weapons right here," Vice said, holding up his fists.

"Yeah! Me too!" Lala said, copying him. She felt very silly, so she stopped. She wasn't as badass as Vice was, and she knew it.

"An empty threat, I'm sure." The masked man motioned and the hovering drones moved closer. Lala moved closer to Vice again, so that they were touching.

"It's going to be okay, Lala," Vice assured her.

"I know, Vice. I know." She smiled at him.

"Very touching," the masked man said, moving forward. One of his drones swooped down and picked Lala up off of the ground. "But, you are coming with me. I can't have nobodies out and wandering the streets, wreaking havoc."

"Put her down!" Vice yelled, subconsciously materializing his crossbow and aiming it. He shot an arrow only to have it deflected off some kind of force field. One of the drones grabbed the bow; another grabbed him. "Hey! Let me go!"

"I guess I probably found the nobody, but I'm not taking chances." The masked man waved his hand and they found themselves in a basement surrounded by computers.

Vice watched in fright as the drones pulled him and Lala into separate rooms. "What am I going to do now?" he said to no one.

Even when apart,

We are always together.

Together forever,

Through the thick and thin.

Together we will fight.

Together we will win.


	3. Act III: Portamento

((This story takes place before the events of Kingdom Hearts 1. I hope you enjoy!))

(I do not own the characters or the Kingdom Hearts Franchise. I just am a fan writing about a game that I love.)

Chapter 4:

They reached the island in good time. They had been mostly silent for the ride, each lost in their own thoughts. Unsurprisingly, they were the only ones there. It was so quiet, so calm. They walked onto the beach and sat down in the sand, watching the tide go out. They stared at the sea in silence for a few moments. "Remember when we were kids?" Riku began. "That time we ran away to the island, just like this?"

Sora looked over. "Yeah. I remember. You were mad at your parents and came to my house to get me. We made it here and were here for a few hours before anyone figured out where we went." He sighed. "We got into so much trouble."

"Those were the days, right?" Riku laughed.

"Yeah. Sometimes I miss those days." Sora sighed.

Riku looked over. "You too?"

Sora nodded and lay back in the sand. "What changed, Riku?"

"We grew up," Riku said sadly. "I guess that's all there is to it."

"But why does it have to be that way?" Sora asked. "Why can't we still be as close as we were? Why did we have to grow up? Why couldn't things just stay the same?"

"I don't know," Riku said. "Maybe they don't have to stay the same: maybe change could be a good thing." Riku was ready to say it now, to let Sora know how he felt. Sitting there on that beach, he knew that even if Sora didn't feel the same, he wouldn't throw him out of the window.

"Maybe you're right," Sora said, sitting up. "I mean, getting off of these island is a start of something new."

"Yeah, you're right." Riku was beginning to chicken out. He knew that if he didn't say something soon, he wouldn't say anything at all. "But I was also kind of talking about something else…"

"What's wrong?" Sora looked concerned.

"Well… I don't know how to put this…" Riku began.

"How to put what?" Sora pressured as he saw that Riku was pausing. He had no idea what he was going to say.

Riku muttered under his breath, "I love you?"

"What?" Sora asked, not hearing him.

"I said I love you," Riku finally said. Sora just stared at him for a moment confused. _I blew it,_ Riku thought. But he continued, making himself clearer. "I've been in love with you for a very long time. And I understand if you don't feel the same way."

Sora just grinned that trademark grin. "You know what? I think I love you too."

"Well that certainly went better than expected," Riku said with a sigh of relief.

"What did you think I would do? Did you think I would say that I didn't want to be friends with you anymore?"

"To be honest, I was a little worried," Riku said. "I didn't truly think that you would, but it's hard sometimes to not think of the worst."

"Nope. I can't believe you would think that though." Sora scooted closer to Riku. "No matter what happens, we'll always be best friends, got it?"

"Got it." Riku smiled.

"I've just been so confused," Sora said. "I haven't really been able to think about anything but you lately. But I had no idea why."

"Well, I'm glad." Riku laughed. "It's good to know that I drive you crazy."

"Hey!" Sora laughed too. And they sat there watched the waves until morning. If only things could have stayed that way forever…

((Note: I'm leaving this open ended, because I am not overly comfortable with continuing it into the canon storyline of Kingdom Hearts. I don't know whether or not I will write more, we'll see. I'd say probably not unless people request it.))


	4. Act IV: Allegro

A New Melody Act IV: Allegro

Vice was also sitting quietly, scheming his escape. He knew that if he just made a ruckus it would just draw attention to him, which was the last thing that he wanted. If he could lay low, he might be able to sneak his way out and to Lala, at which point they could leave together. It wasn't much of a plan; more of an outline; but it was something.

He had long ago noticed a monitor in the center of the room but for the most part had ignored it. The masked man appeared on it. "What do _you _want?" Vice asked.

The man laughed. "And I thought you would be anxious to 'clear your name'."

"There's nothing to clear," Vice said. "I don't know why the hell you have us here. We didn't do anything wrong, especially Lala. I might be a bit rough around the edges, but Lala's a genuinely good person."

"That is yet to be determined," the man said. "However, I will admit, I suspect you more than her."

"I don't know what your problem is. We haven't done anything. We were just minding our own business, trying to get out of here. But then _you _have to show up out of nowhere and stop us from doing something that wasn't going to hurt anyone." Vice glared at the man.

"If your claims are true I will let you and your friend go. However, I must ask, where were you going?" The man asked.

"What's it to you?" Vice said defensively.

"Just curiosity I suppose." He looked at him, seeming to dare him to give the wrong answer.

"Well you can stay curious. It's none of your business."

"If you weren't up to no good, you would have no reason not to tell me." The man seemed satisfied.

"There's such a thing as privacy you know. You ever hear of it?"

The man chuckled. "A nobody has no right to privacy."

"Well I'm not a nobody, so drop all that 'nobodies have no rights' nonsense. Nobodies are people too anyway." Vice was controlling his temper fairly well, but he was growing impatient.

"You and your friend have many false illusions, I must say. If you aren't a nobody, then what do you even care?"

"I care because everyone, heartless, nobody, or human has thoughts and feelings and deserve to be treated as such," Vice said matter-of-factly.

The man laughed. "You really are fascinating. I'll be glad to have more time to talk to you over this nonsense, perhaps clear some of it out of your head since you seem to have it so completely engrained."

"Why don't you go fly a kite or something, make yourself useful somewhere?" Vice said sarcastically.

"Very well," the man said. "I will have plenty of time to figure you out. I'm sure that you are a nobody; that much is obvious to me."

"You're an idiot if you think that. I have a heart. I'm not a nobody," Vice reiterated. The man just chuckled again. He disappeared off the screen. "Wow. What an a-hole.

In an infinite darkness

The light lives.

That light it thrives

And hope it gives.

But not all can see it.

Some are too blind.

We all contain it.

And they must find

Find out that they

Were wrong

All along.

((Sorry for the short chapters, I'm trying to avoid character confusion as much as possible!))


	5. Act V: Let's Dance (Part I)

A New Melody Act V: Let's Dance (Part I)

Lala finally found a break in the defenses of the room: there was a small gap in the ceiling. She would have to climb the monitor to reach the said gap, and she didn't know if that would draw attention to her, but she didn't see that she had any choice but to try. She hoped that she had enough upper body strength the reach the top, but she doubted it. No, she couldn't doubt in herself. She had to remember that she was no longer Lilly Creed; no, she was Lala, the strong and the brave. She could do this!

She made a running leap and jumped onto the monitor (which was fairly close to the ground) and pulled herself so she was standing on top. _So far so good,_ she thought. But then she looked up and saw that there was still a long way to go, and she knew that she would have to move quickly to reach the top or else risk getting caught. Which she definitely couldn't let happen, as she was sure that the masked man would try to claim it as 'proof that she was a nobody' or something like that, and then she was sure she would be under tighter security. He didn't seem to think her capable of much, which was a good thing. So she began a desperate climb to the top. She fell a few times, much to her dismay, but never off of the monitor. She continued to climb. Luckily nothing stopped her. She managed to squeeze through the crack.

She looked around once she was outside. Nothing was in sight, and she saw no way out of this new room, which was full of computer equipment. She decided her best option would be to calmly walk around the area. So she began walking. And she walked, and walked, and walked, but found nothing. She began to panic. "What if I'm stuck up here forever?" she thought. She took one more step, onto some new material that felt weaker than the rest of the floor, and fell through, all the way to the floor.

"Wait, what?" she heard Vice ask as she stood up. She looked around. Vice rushed to her side. "Are you alright Lala? You fell from pretty high up there."

"I'm fine, I think." She took a step. "Perhaps a little bruised."

"Okay." He looked up at the ceiling, where there was a new hole. "So I guess we need to get back up there?"

"That would be the quickest option, and the most likely to work. I haven't found any other breaks in the defenses. But I can't find an exit up there!" Lala sighed.

"It's worth a shot," Vice said, looking up. "But how do we get up there?"

"I climbed the monitor in my room. Let's give that a shot."

"Okay," Vice said. "And we'd better get a move on before we are caught or something. He's going to notice you're missing sooner or later."

"Hopefully later rather than sooner." Lala took a deep breath before making a running jump onto the monitor. "Come on, Vice. Hop to it!"

"Right." He jumped up more easily than she had been able to. The climbed their way up towards the top of the room. "Crap!" Vice said, looking at the hole. "Is it just me or is that hole getting smaller?"

Lala looked up. "It does look like that! Come on, climb faster!" She began to climb more quickly, pushing her body to the limit. Thankfully it was enough. She got through the hole, and Vice slipped through right as the hole closed behind him. "We made it!"

"Yeah!" Vice said.

Lala hugged him "I'm glad you're okay! I was so worried that he was going to do something to you!"

"I was afraid he was doing something to you!" Vice awkwardly hugged her back.

When they let go, they were both blushing a little. "I hope it was okay that I hugged you," Lala said.

"Yeah," Vice muttered. "It's fine."


End file.
